Indiana Dunes trip provides fieldwork experience

KOKOMO, Ind. - As Indiana Dunes National Park staff repair emerald ash borer damage to park woodlands, students from Indiana University Kokomo contribute research to assist in the effort.

The students - part of a special topics class in the School of Sciences - presented their research on ways to restore the tree canopy devastated by the emerald ash borer beetle, as well as recommendations on using passive recording devices to monitor biodiversity of the bird population, to scientists, rangers, and other people involved in the National Park Service, during a six-day trip to the park this spring.

"We spent six weeks researching and putting together a proposal of what we would recommend for riparian restoration," said Josh Gentile, adding that they reviewed nearly 50 papers written by experts about what to replace the ash trees with, how to manage the emerald ash borer infestation, best practices in planting trees, and other related topics.

"The National Park Service has limited resources, so we condensed the work of reading all of those papers down to 27 pages," he said. "Our job was making it so they had less to sort through to make decisions. We presented it to the whole park staff, which was the coolest thing ever. We talked to people at the USDA, researchers at several universities, and other experts to help us with this project. Being able to share this information with Dunes staff was so cool. I don't know if I will ever get another opportunity like this. As an undergraduate student, we got to talk to a federal agency and give input on a restoration project."

Thanks to connections made on the trip, he's exploring a potential internship to continue work on the project.

"I don't know that there is any other campus that would have offered anything like this so readily accessible," Gentile said.

Senior Jacob Sala plans to attend graduate school in conservation biology after he graduates in December with a degree in biological and physical sciences. He said the class and trip gave him exposure to the potential career of environmental consulting, which he hadn't considered earlier.

"If you want to do that kind of work, you get to experience actual consulting work, with two professors there to support you," he said. "Consulting was not something I thought of before. It becomes more tangible when you experience it."

Leda Jackson Overpeck, teaching professor of geology, and Lina Rifai, associate professor of vertebrate biology, led the class.

"The Indiana Dunes National Park is a great place to show students what is involved in public land stewardship, and the interests and parties involved," Rifai said, adding that the park is bordered by industrial and residential areas, and is divided by the Indiana Dunes State Park.

The two research projects gave them the chance to learn and present their expertise, she said.

"They acted as an environmental agency that advises in these kinds of projects," Rifai said. "Most of them are interested in conservation and want to do something out in nature. This gave them an idea of what kind of work they will be doing if they get into those fields."

Rifai said the National Park team was very impressed with the students' projects.

During their six days in the park, students hiked trails at West Beach, Mount Baldy, Cowles Bog, Pinhook Bog, and the Heron Rookery; visited the Bailley Homestead and Chellberg farm to learn about early settlers in the area; collected dragonfly larvae to monitor lead levels in park wildlife; and kayaked the Little Calumet River.

For sophomore Rachel Susong, the trip was her first time visiting a national park, and she was surprised to learn that Indiana has a national park - and that it's among the top U.S. national parks in terms of biodiversity.

"In Indiana, people don't think of our state as exceptional in terms of landscapes, but then you go to this place and find out how many species and environments and climates are available. We have marshes and savannahs, the creeks, the riparian zones, the dunes, and the lake. Learning about how much there is to find in places that may look unremarkable, knowing how much we have is important."

It confirmed her plan to continue to graduate school in a field related to wildlife, environmental science, and fieldwork.

"This is more than a class," she said. "It gave me so much more passion for what I'm going to do, because I saw where it's bringing me. I'm so happy I get to do this for the rest of my life."

She is thankful to have had the experience.

"Something I love about IUK is that it offers genuine professional experiences to students of all levels and all majors," she said. "It gives opportunities we would not have just sitting in a classroom. The fact we get these opportunities so often is incredible, and so amazing."

Rifai said her goal is that students take away hope from the experience, and an understanding of what is involved in environmental preservation.

"There has been environmental damage, but we were able to preserve an area most people would think is impossible to save, because it's so populated, and there's so much industry in the area. You do have to work with people - it's not only those who love nature and want to be naturalists. You have to work with politicians and landowners and industry. Things can be difficult, but to protect nature you have to work with people you disagree with."

The trip was offered as part of the IU Kokomo Experience and You (KEY) program, which offers transformative learning opportunities through a wide variety of hands-on experiences - from faculty-mentored research internships and retreats, to overseas study, domestic field trips, and project-based learning.

Education is KEY at Indiana University Kokomo.

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